Commercial service of a wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA) system among so-called third-generation communication systems has been offered in Japan since 2001. In addition, high speed down link packet access (HSDPA) service for achieving higher-speed data transmission using a down link has been offered by adding a channel for packet transmission high speed-downlink shared channel (HS-DSCH)) to the down link (dedicated data channel, dedicated control channel). Further, in order to increase the speed of data transmission in an uplink direction, service of a high speed up link packet access (HSUPA) has been offered. W-CDMA is a communication system defined by the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) that is the standard organization regarding the mobile communication system, where the specifications of Release 8 version are produced.
Further, 3GPP is investigating new communication systems referred to as “long term evolution (LTE)” regarding radio areas and “system architecture evolution (SAE)” regarding the overall system configuration including a core network (merely referred to as network as well) as communication systems independent of W-CDMA. In the LTE, an access scheme, radio channel configuration and a protocol are totally different from those of the current W-CDMA (HSDPA/HSUPA). For example, as to the access scheme, code division multiple access is used in the W-CDMA, whereas in the LTE, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is used in a downlink direction and single career frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) is used in an uplink direction. In addition, the bandwidth is 5 MHz in the W-CDMA, while in the LTE, the bandwidth can be selected from 1.4 MHz, 3 MHz, 5 MHz, 10 MHz, 15 MHz and 20 MHz for each base station. Further, differently from the W-CDMA, circuit switching is not provided but a packet communication system is only provided in the LTE.
The LTE is defined as a radio access network independent of the W-CDMA network because its communication system is configured with a new core network different from a core network (GPRS) of the W-CDMA. Therefore, for differentiation from the W-CDMA communication system, a base station that communicates with a user equipment (UE) and a radio network controller that transmits/receives control data and user data to/from a plurality of base stations are referred to as an E-UTRAN NodeB (eNB) and an evolved packet core (EPC: also referred to as access gateway (aGW)), respectively, in the LTE communication system. Unicast service and evolved multimedia broadcast multicast service (E-MBMS service) are provided in this LTE communication system. The E-MBMS service is broadcast multimedia service, which is merely referred to as MBMS in some cases. Bulk broadcast contents such as news, weather forecast and mobile broadcast are transmitted to a plurality of UEs. This is also referred to as point to multipoint service.
Non-Patent Document 1 describes the current decisions by 3GPP regarding an overall architecture in the LTE system. The overall architecture (Chapter 4 of Non-Patent Document 1) is described with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the LTE communication system. With reference to FIG. 1, the evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRAN) is composed of one or a plurality of base stations 102, provided that a control protocol (for example, radio resource management (RRC)) and a user plane (for example, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), radio link control (RLC), medium access control (MAC), and physical layer (PHY)) for a UE 101 are terminated in the base station 102. The base stations 102 perform scheduling and transmission of paging signaling (also referred to as paging messages) notified from a mobility management entity (MME) 103. The base stations 102 are connected to each other by means of an X2 interface. In addition, the base stations 102 are connected to an evolved packet core (EPC) by means of an S1 interface, more specifically, connected to the mobility management entity (MME) 103 by means of an S1_MME interface and connected to a serving gateway (S-GW) 104 by means of an S1_U interface. The MME 103 distributes the paging signaling to multiple or a single base station 102. In addition, the MME 103 performs mobility control of an idle state. When the UE is in the idle state and an active state, the MME 103 manages a list of tracking areas. The S-GW 104 transmits/receives user data to/from one or a plurality of base stations 102. The S-GW 104 serves as a local mobility anchor point in handover between base stations. Moreover, there is provided a PDN gateway (P-GW), which performs per-user packet filtering and UE-ID address allocation.
The current decisions by 3GPP regarding the frame configuration in the LTE system are described in Non-Patent Document 1 (Chapter 5), which are described with reference to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a radio frame used in the LTE communication system. With reference to FIG. 2, one radio frame is 10 ms. The radio frame is divided into ten equally sized sub-frames. The subframe is divided into two equally sized slots. The first and sixth subframes contain a downlink synchronization signal (SS) per each radio frame. The synchronization signals are classified into a primary synchronization signal (P-SS) and a secondary synchronization signal (S-SS). Multiplexing of channels for multimedia broadcast multicast service single frequency network (MBSFN) and for non-MBSFN is performed on a per-subframe basis. Hereinafter, a subframe for MBSFN transmission is referred to as an MBSFN sub-frame. Non-Patent Document 2 describes a signaling example when MBSFN subframes are allocated. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the MBSFN frame. With reference to FIG. 3, the MBSFN subframes are allocated for each MBSFN frame. An MBSFN frame cluster is scheduled. A repetition period of the MBSFN frame cluster is allocated.
Non-Patent Document 1 describes the current decisions by 3GPP regarding the channel configuration in the LTE system. It is assumed that the same channel configuration is used in a closed subscriber group (CSG) cell as that of a non-CSG cell. A physical channel (Chapter 5 of Non-Patent Document 1) is described with reference to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating physical channels used in the LTE communication system. With reference to FIG. 4, a physical broadcast channel 401 (PBCH) is a downlink channel transmitted from the base station 102 to the UE 101. A BCH transport block is mapped to four subframes within a 40 ms interval. There is no explicit signaling indicating 40 ms timing. A physical control format indicator channel 402 (PCFICH) is transmitted from the base station 102 to the UE 101. The PCFICH notifies the number of OFDM symbols used for PDCCHs from the base station 102 to the UE 101. The PCFICH is transmitted in each subframe. A physical downlink control channel 403 (PDCCH) is a downlink channel transmitted from the base station 102 to the UE 101. The PDCCH notifies the resource allocation, HARQ information related to DL-SCH (downlink shared channel that is one of the transport channels shown in FIG. 5) and the PCH (paging channel that is one of the transport channels shown in FIG. 5). The PDCCH carries an uplink scheduling grant. The PDCCH carries ACK/Nack that is a response signal to uplink transmission. The PDCCH is referred to as an L1/L2 control signal as well. A physical downlink shared channel 404 (PDSCH) is a downlink channel transmitted from the base station 102 to the UE 101. A DL-SCH (downlink shared channel) that is a transport channel and a PCH that is a transport channel are mapped to the PDSCH. A physical multicast channel 405 (PMCH) is a downlink channel transmitted from the base station 102 to the UE 101. A multicast channel (MCH) that is a transport channel is mapped to the PMCH.
A physical uplink control channel 406 (PUCCH) is an uplink channel transmitted from the UE 101 to the base station 102. The PUCCH carries ACK/Nack that is a response signal to downlink transmission. The PUCCH carries a channel quality indicator (CQI) report. The CQI is quality information indicating the quality of received data or channel quality. In addition, the PUCCH carries a scheduling request (SR). A physical uplink shared channel 407 (PUSCH) is an uplink channel transmitted from the UE 101 to the base station 102. A UL-SCH (uplink shared channel that is one of the transport channels shown in FIG. 5) is mapped to the PUSCH. A physical hybrid ARQ indicator channel 408 (PHICH) is a downlink channel transmitted from the base station 102 to the UE 101. The PHICH carries ACK/Nack that is a response to uplink transmission. A physical random access channel 409 (PRACH) is an uplink channel transmitted from the UE 101 to the base station 102. The PRACH carries a random access preamble.
A downlink reference signal which is a known symbol in a mobile communication system is inserted in the first, third and last OFDM symbols of each slot. The physical layer measurement objects of a UE include, for example, reference symbol received power (RSRP).
The transport channel (Chapter 5 of Non-Patent Document 1) is described with reference to FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating transport channels used in the LTE communication system. FIG. 5(a) shows mapping between a downlink transport channel and a downlink physical channel. FIG. 5(b) shows mapping between an uplink transport channel and an uplink physical channel. A broadcast channel (BCH) is broadcast to the entire base station (cell) regarding the downlink transport channel. The BCH is mapped to the physical broadcast channel (PBCH). Retransmission control according to a hybrid ARQ (HARQ) is applied to a downlink shared channel (DL-SCH). Broadcast to the entire base station (cell) is enabled. The DL-SCH supports dynamic or semi-static resource allocation. The semi-static resource allocation is also referred to as persistent scheduling. The DL-SCH supports discontinuous reception (DRX) of a UE for enabling the UE to save power. The DL-SCH is mapped to the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). The paging channel (PCH) supports DRX of the UE for enabling the UE to save power. Broadcast to the entire base station (cell) is required. The PCH is mapped to physical resources such as the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) that can be used dynamically for traffic or physical resources such as the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) of the other control channel. The multicast channel (MCH) is used for broadcast to the entire base station (cell). The MCH supports SFN combining of MBMS service (MTCH and MCCH) in multi-cell transmission. The MCH supports semi-static resource allocation. The MCH is mapped to the PMCH.
Retransmission control according to a hybrid ARQ (HARQ) is applied to an uplink shared channel (UL-SCH). The UL-SCH supports dynamic or semi-static resource allocation. The UL-SCH is mapped to the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). A random access channel (RACH) shown in FIG. 5(b) is limited to control information. There is a collision risk. The RACH is mapped to the physical random access channel (PRACH). The HARQ is described.
The HARQ is the technique for improving the communication quality of a channel by combination of automatic repeat request and forward error correction. The HARQ has an advantage that error correction functions effectively by retransmission even for a channel whose communication quality changes. In particular, it is also possible to achieve further quality improvement in retransmission through combination of the reception results of the first transmission and the reception results of the retransmission. An example of the retransmission method is described. In a case where the receiver fails to successfully decode the received data (in a case where a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) error occurs (CRC=NG)), the receiver transmits “Nack” to the transmitter. The transmitter that has received “Nack” retransmits the data. In a case where the receiver successfully decodes the received data (in a case where a CRC error does not occur (CRC=OK)), the receiver transmits “AcK” to the transmitter. The transmitter that has received “Ack” transmits the next data. Examples of the HARQ system include “chase combining”. In chase combining, the same data sequence is transmitted in the first transmission and retransmission, which is the system for improving gains by combining the data sequence of the first transmission and the data sequence of the retransmission. This is based on the idea that correct data is partially included even if the data of the first transmission contains an error, and highly accurate data transmission is enabled by combining the correct portions of the first transmission data and the retransmission data. Another example of the HARQ system is incremental redundancy (IR). The IR is aimed to increase redundancy, where a parity bit is transmitted in retransmission to increase the redundancy by combining the first transmission and retransmission, to thereby improve the quality by an error correction function.
A logical channel (Chapter 6 of Non-Patent Document 1) is described with reference to FIG. 6. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating logical channels used in an LTE communication system. FIG. 6(a) shows mapping between a downlink logical channel and a downlink transport channel. FIG. 6(b) shows mapping between an uplink logical channel and an uplink transport channel. A broadcast control channel (BCCH) is a downlink channel for broadcast system control information. The BCCH that is a logical channel is mapped to the broadcast channel (BCH) or downlink shared channel (DL-SCH) that is a transport channel. A paging control channel (PCCH) is a downlink channel for transmitting paging signals. The PCCH is used when the network does not know the cell location of a UE. The PCCH that is a logical channel is mapped to the paging channel (PCH) that is a transport channel. A common control channel (CCCH) is a channel for transmission control information between UEs and a base station. The CCCH is used in a case where the UEs have no RRC connection with the base station. In downlink, the CCCH is mapped to the downlink shared channel (DL-SCH) that is a transport channel. In uplink, the CCCH is mapped to the uplink shared channel (UL-SCH) that is a transport channel.
A multicast control channel (MCCH) is a downlink channel for point-to-multipoint transmission. The MCCH is a channel used for transmission of MBMS control information for one or several MTCHs from a network to a UE. The MCCH is a channel used only by a UE during reception of the MBMS. The MCCH is mapped to the downlink shared channel (DL-SCH) or multicast channel (MCH) that is a transport channel. A dedicated control channel (DCCH) is a channel that transmits dedicated control information between a UE and a network. The DCCH is mapped to the uplink shared channel (UL-SCH) in uplink and mapped to the downlink shared channel (DL-SCH) in downlink. A dedicate traffic channel (DTCH) is a point-to-point communication channel for transmission of user information to a dedicated UE. The DTCH exists in uplink as well as downlink. The DTCH is mapped to the uplink shared channel (UL-SCH) in uplink and mapped to the downlink shared channel (DL-SCH) in downlink. A multicast traffic channel (MTCH) is a downlink channel for traffic data transmission from a network to a UE. The MTCH is a channel used only by a UE during reception of the MBMS. The MTCH is mapped to the downlink shared channel (DL-SCH) or multicast channel (MCH).
GCI represents a global cell identity. A closed subscriber group (CSG) cell is introduced in the LTE and universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS). The CSG is described below (Chapter 3.1 of Non-Patent Document 4). The closed subscriber group (CSG) is a cell in which subscribers who are permitted to use are identified by an operator (cell for identified subscribers). The identified subscribers are permitted to access one or more E-UTRAN cells of a public land mobile network (PLMN). One or more E-UTRAN cells in which the identified subscribers are permitted to access are referred to as “CSG cell(s)”. Note that access is limited in the PLMN. The CSG cell is part of the PLMN that broadcasts a specific CSG identity (CSG ID, CSG-ID). The members of the authorized subscriber group who have registered in advance access the CSG cells using the CSG-ID that is the access permission information. The CSG-ID is broadcast by the CSG cell or cells. A plurality of CSG-IDs exist in a mobile communication system. The CSG-IDs are used by UEs for making access from CSG-related members easy. 3GPP discusses in a meeting that the information to be broadcast by the CSG cell or cells is changed from the CSG-ID to a tracking area code (TAC). The locations of UEs are traced based on an area composed of one or more cells. The locations are traced for enabling tracing of the locations of UEs and calling (calling of UEs) even in an idle state. An area for tracing locations of UEs is referred to as a tracking area. A CSG whitelist is a list stored in the USIM containing all the CSG IDs of the CSG cells to which the subscribers belong. The whitelist of the UE is provided by a higher layer. By means of this, the base station of the CSG cell allocates radio resources to the UEs.
A “suitable cell” is described below (Chapter 4. 3 of Non-Patent Document 4). The “suitable cell” is a cell on which a UE camps to obtain normal service. Such a cell shall fulfill the following: (1) the cell is part of the selected PLMN or the registered PLMN, or part of the PLMN of an “equivalent PLMN list”; and (2) according to the latest information provided by a non-access stratum (NAS), the cell shall further fulfill the following conditions: (a) the cell is not a barred cell; (b) the cell is part of at least one tracking area (TA), not part of “forbidden LAs for roaming”, where the cell needs to fulfill (1) above; (c) the cell shall fulfill the cell selection criteria; and (d) for a cell identified as CSG cell by system information (SI), the CSG-ID is part of a “CSG whitelist” of the UE (contained in the CSG whitelist of the UE).
An “acceptable cell” is described below (Chapter 4.3 of Non-Patent Document 4). This is the cell on which a UE camps to obtain limited service (emergency calls). Such a cell shall fulfill all the following requirements. That is, the minimum required set for initiating an emergency call in an E-UTRAN network are as follows: (1) the cell is not a barred cell; and (2) the cell fulfills the cell selection criteria.
3GPP is studying base stations referred to as Home-NodeB (Home-NB, HNB) and Home-eNodeB (Home-eNB, HeNB). HNB/HeNB is a base station for, for example, household, corporation or commercial access service in UTRAN/E-UTRAN. Non-Patent Document 6 discloses three different modes of the access to the HeNB and HNB. Those are an open access mode, a closed access mode and a hybrid access mode. The respective modes have the following characteristics. In the open access mode, the HeNB and HNB are operated as a normal cell of a normal operator. In the closed access mode, the HeNB and HNB are operated as a CSG cell. The CSG cell is a cell where only CSG members are allowed access. In the hybrid access mode, the HeNB and HNB are CSG cells where non-CSG members are allowed access at the same time. In other words, a cell in the hybrid access mode is the cell that supports both the open access mode and the closed access mode.
3GPP is studying a further advanced new communication system for radio areas referred to as LTE advanced (LTE-A) (Non-Patent Document 5). The LTE-A is based on the communication system for radio areas according to the LTE and is configured by addition of several new techniques thereto. Examples of the new techniques include the wider bandwidth extension for supporting a wider bandwidth and the coordinated multiple point transmission and reception (CoMP).
CoMP studied for LTE-A is the technique for increasing the coverage of high data rates, improving the cell-edge throughput and increasing the system throughput by transmission or reception among multiple geographically separated points. The CoMP is classified into downlink CoMP (DL CoMP) and uplink CoMP (UL CoMP).
In DL CoMP, the PDSCH for one user equipment (UE) is transmitted among multiple points in a coordinated manner. The PDSCH for one UE may be transmitted from one point among multiple points, or may be transmitted from a plurality of points among multiple points. In a case of the transmission from one point, it is also referred to as coordinate scheduling (CS) or coordinate beamforming (CB), where transmission is stopped or transmission power is reduced in the physical resources to which the PDSCH is allocated in down link from other point to the UE. This reduces interference with the UE, leading to improvements in reception quality of the PDSCH of the UE.
In the case of the transmission from a plurality of points among multiple points, it is also referred to as joint processing (JP) or joint transmission (JT), where the PDSCHs for the UE are transmitted simultaneously from a plurality of points of the multiple points. The PDSCHs transmitted from a plurality of points among multiple points to the UE are identical to each other. This enables the UE to combine a plurality of received PDSCHs and accordingly improve the reception quality. The allocation information of the physical channel PDSCH to physical resources (resource blocks) is transmitted to a UE by being mapped on the physical channel PDCCH.
As the units (cells) that perform transmission at multiple points, base stations (NB, eNB, HNB, HeNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a remote radio equipment (RRE) and a relay are studied. The unit (cell) that performs coordinated multiple point transmission is referred to as a multi-point unit (multi-point cell).
In UL CoMP, the uplink data from one user equipment (UE) is received by multiple points in a coordinated manner. The quality of uplink reception from the UE can be improved by combination of pieces of data received at multiple points.
As to UL CoMP, it is studied that the physical channel PUSCH is received by multiple points in a coordinated manner. The allocation information of the physical channel PUSCH to the physical resources (resource blocks) is transmitted to the UE by being mapped on the physical channel PDCCH.
As the units (cells) that perform reception at multiple points, base stations (NB, eNB, HNB, HeNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a remote radio equipment (RRE) and a relay are studied. The unit (cell) that performs coordinated multiple point reception is referred to as a multi-point unit (multi-point cell).